Diet and Mental Health

Hi, all,
I'm trying to convince my neighbor, who just turned 65 and eats SAD in a
major way, to eat more healthfully. She complains about osteoporosis, weight
and indigestion, but mostly she is reasonably healthy because she keeps
quite active.
Problem: she has a family history of Alzheimer's or a similar dementia. Her
74-year-old brother has had 'Alzheimer-like dementia' for about 4 years now,
and her mother died of it. Once, during a conversation about healthy eating,
she said, "I want my body to give out before my brain does." The only thing
in her diet she steers clear of is aluminum.
My question to the group: is anyone aware of any research done on how diet
affects degenerative brain disorders? I'm NOT interested in Creutzfeld-Jakob
disease or in brain-enhancing supplements such as gingko or ginseng. I'm
talking about our ordinary diets and degeneration that is not necessarily
directly caused by anything lurking in animal foods.
One thing that comes to mind is the 'twinkie defense' that was used
successfully a few years ago by an accused killer who argued that junk food
made him temporarily insane. Has that incident spurred any research?
If you feel that this is too far from the purpose of this list, please email
me privately.
Thanks,
Alla Linetsky
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